Threadgill Financial LLC Acquires 7,727 Shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO)

Threadgill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Moody's Co. (NYSE:MCO - Free Report) by 312.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,198 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,727 shares during the quarter. Moody's comprises about 2.5% of Threadgill Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Threadgill Financial LLC's holdings in Moody's were worth $4,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Moody's in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Moody's during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Moody's by 80.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Moody's during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. 92.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Robert Fauber sold 415 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.80, for a total value of $181,687.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,690 shares in the company, valued at $27,445,682. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Moody's Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Moody's stock traded up $3.74 on Wednesday, hitting $485.81. The stock had a trading volume of 565,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 763,751. The company has a quick ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The stock has a market cap of $87.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.11, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $454.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.28. Moody's Co. has a one year low of $378.71 and a one year high of $531.93.

Moody's (NYSE:MCO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $3.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.58 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Moody's had a return on equity of 58.94% and a net margin of 29.03%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Moody's Co. will post 13.95 EPS for the current year.

Moody's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Moody's's payout ratio is 32.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MCO shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Moody's in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Moody's from $610.00 to $572.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays cut their target price on Moody's from $570.00 to $520.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Moody's from $533.00 to $468.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Moody's from $481.00 to $508.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Moody's presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.87.

About Moody's

Moody's Corporation operates as an integrated risk assessment firm worldwide. It operates in two segments, Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Services. The Moody's Analytics segment develops a range of products and services that support the risk management activities of institutional participants in financial markets.